Atomic Gas in the Merger Remnant NGC 3921 |
 | Minimum credit line: Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI
and J. Hibbard(for details, see .
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A composite image of the optical light (green), warm gas
(yellow and pink), and cold atomic hydrogen gas (blue) in the well
known merger remnant NGC 3921, also known as
Arp 224. NGC 3921 is the galaxy to the lower left of the image.
It is in a small group with three other nearby galaxies
(2 of which are labeled in
this alternative version
of these same data): the spiral
galaxy NGC3916 (upper right), the dwarf galaxy known as MCG +09-19-213
(far right), and a small unnamed disk galaxy just to the right of NGC
3921. NGC 3921 is the result of two
spiral galaxies which collided and merged into a single
object. The atomic hydrogen observations, taken with the VLA
in its C- and D-array configurations, show the narrow tail
that extends directly south from the galaxy's main body is
gas rich, while the tidal loop/plume that emerges from the lower
right of the galaxy, loops around, and then extends to the upper left
is gas poor, suggesting that this system is the result of the
collision between a gas-rich and a gas-poor disk galaxy.
The inner regions are relatively free of cold atomic gas,
supporting the idea that two disk galaxies can merge together
to form a circular gas-poor object similar to an
early-type galaxy. Investigator(s): J. Hibbard & J. van Gorkom This image is available in the following downloadable versions: If you would like to obtain a higher resolution version of this image,
please contact .
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Telescope
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VLA
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Date of Observation
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1991-01-13
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Type of Observation
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Spectral Line Observations
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Wavelength
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21 cm
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Frequency
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1420.4 MHz
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Species
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HI
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Center of Image
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RA: 11:50:52.24, Dec: 55:05:33.00 (J2000)
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Field of View
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0.1333 x 0.1500 degrees
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Technical Caption
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VLA C+D array observations with a resolution of 20".
Optical image is an R-band image, and both this
image and the continuum subtracted Halpha image were obtained
with the KPNO 2.1m telescope. The velocity of MCG +09-19-213
fell to one edge of the bandpass, so its HI has not been
completely mapped.
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